Originally posted by: Invader Jenny
I disagree. I don't think the original love for Star Wars will die with us. For once thing, many of us are in our early 20's. I never saw the originals in the theater, but I love them as if I did. My younger brother was born in '87 and he love only the originals.
Time will test the temper of the material that Star Wars is made off. The original is a classic and will be remember as so. No mater how much Lucas alters it, the fact remains that the extra scenes were not there for 20 years. If taught in a film class, the originals have to be used because it would be a lie if taught otherwise. Hell, even a reference to it from the 70's and 80's will have to have original scenes, otherwise it wouldn't make sense. The death star explosion did not have a ring around it in 1977. You can't show a scene like that say on "That 70's Show." You have to show the original.
There are too many film purists out there, us included, that won't let this die. I myself am only 23 and don't plan on dieing any time soon. So if you say that this is the last generation, well, techincally there have only been 2 generations so far. By the time I'm 80, hopefully there will be more generations that loved the originals as much as me.
Well, I myself am 26 so I know exactly what you mean concerning the enduring nature of Star Wars, and its two sequels. I was too young to have ever seen them in theaters, but the greatness of the films caught my heart from the first moment I saw them at a later, but still very young, age. I remember how much of an event it was for me to see Star Wars premiere on television and how much I begged for my dad's video recorder to capture it. And then, a few years after that, I had a commercial-free copy of Star Wars taped off of the Disney Channel to quench my thirst. I religiously watched that first film in the series over a hundred times within the following years (I'd guess around over two hundred viewings). To this day I can still enjoy it just as much as I did then. Nowhere did I ever seek to imply that cinematic achievements on their level would or could be forgotten. What I was referring to was the popularity of the films among mainstream culture.
To put it bluntly, the special edition of Star Wars actually bores me. I have no idea why. It feels like a cheap mess that was thrown together by someone who really didn’t care about anything. Ancient, low-budget special effects and newer 3D technology are combined to give us confusingly messy scenes that lack all sense of subtlety and lasting emotional impact (the lizard-mount-creature additions, Han Solo and Greedo, Jabba the Hut/Bobba Fette, and the absolutely silly shock waves). In addition, (perhaps someone can fill me in here) the great musical score of the film sounds subdued and quiet in the SE. It all feels so bland I get tired of watching it fast.
For a while there I thought I had just grown up and thus didn't like the first Star Wars as much anymore. But, just a few years ago I finally watched the original version again (after I purchased some mint-condition, widescreen VHS tapes over the internet) and all my love and enthusiasm for the film returned instantly. That experience of mine may sound crazy to most of you, but that's exactly how it went. My emotional satisfaction for Empire and Jedi went up in a similar fashion when I went back to their originals. I can't totally explain it. Even my younger brother and sister came to watch the films with me (something they never did for the SEs) and were enjoying all three movies again.
Now we get the crux of my argument: George Lucas. Here is a man seeking to do every last thing he can to ensure that the original theatrical cuts of Star Wars are never seen by anyone, ever again. He goes out of his way to destroy their place within film history and their place within the Star Was universe which he rules like an insane tyrant. All the next and upcoming generation seems to have access to in terms of the Star Wars films are the PT and the SET. (Sure we get a bonus disk thrown at us [probably against Lucas' wishes] but that specific release is extremely limited and how many of those people are even going to bother popping the bonus disk in?) All of the mainstream fervor that remains in our culture is found among people living in the current generation who remember the original films. Unfortunately, most of those people are too stupid to realize that the films were altered to become piles of crap right under their collective nose!
In the end, if George Lucas continues to have his way with the Star Wars films, all of the love for the PT and the Special Editions of Star Wars that will remain in upcoming generations will be found among super-geeks and random people that have no sense of taste. Sure, the original trilogy will certainly remain popular among special collectors, but that will be via Laserdisc transfers and not enough people will have a clue about which Star Wars the term “original trilogy” even refers to. The mainstream culture will forget about Star Wars just like "Hellsing: the movie" and most of the other crap that came out around this time period. It’s sad for me to think about, but that's the way I see things heading. I suppose the only hope is if fans can somehow overcome the confusion and crap that George Lucas has injected into the Star Wars franchise. I want to believe that’s possible.
(Edit: Spelling error.) 
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